Service to Industry Since 1985

The TCI Group was formed in 1980, with the inauguration of TCI Services, to provide a range of Consultancy and Inspection Services relating to all aspects of Corrosion Management and Protective Coatings.

Our objective: to design, deploy and maintain the best planned and most effective systems of Corrosion Mitigation and Control. We deploy a ‘unique’ set of tools and technologies designed to minimise risk, enhance safety and prove integrity and corrosion compliance on all types of process plant, all whilst reducing the cost of maintenance.

Strategic Corrosion Management has announced the trademarking of degRATE – the company’s unique and pioneering Semi-Quantitative Substrate Degradation Assessment calculation - which generates the rate of external corrosion degradation on plant substrates.

degRATE could precipitate a huge “paradigm shift” in the way that corrosion maintenance work is planned and scheduled across a range of industries. In adopting the degRATE methodology, plant operators will finally achieve cost effective maintenance centred around their most appropriate priorities.

Work on degRATE effectively started back in the late 1980’s, when Strategic Corrosion Management developed the world’s first external corrosion management toolset and procedures. The goal then was to streamline corrosion protection planning (coatings and insulation) for on and offshore operators. One of the (many) challenges the industry faced at that time, attributable to the rapid expansion of offshore production fields and the manufacturing of new rigs, was a shortage of skilled personnel capable of undertaking the necessary work of corrosion prevention. The SCM process tools, for example ‘Project Paint’ software, helped operators to not only identify where maintenance was essential but also to reduce it (and associated costs) to the lowest acceptable level through the prioritisation and sub-prioritisation of maintenance workloads.

The science of how to make those decisions, however, was still in its infancy, and the process was often seen as a guesstimate, rather than a logical methodology. In 1987, the same year Project Paint was first deployed offshore over 14 Shell Southern assets, it became apparent that there was still a requirement for a method that would offer full visibility of plant corrosion condition, and in 1990 SCM created the SCFM (Substrate Condition and Failure Mode) scale, which combined the ‘European Scale of Rusting’ (Re Scale) and added an understanding of the ‘type’ of corrosion protection failure and the ‘mode’ of that failure.

Until now, applying these scales, and attempting to reconcile the expected degradation with Integrity Inspections and Anomaly Reports, has been the most effective way of planning corrosion maintenance. Using these ‘coarse’ rates of degradation (RoD) assessments has allowed for more flexible maintenance plans to be implemented than was previously possible however, it has always had a major failing – as with the RBA process (Risk Based Assessment), it works on the premise that corrosion degradation is uniform across an entire plant.

degRATE calculates specific rates of external corrosion degradation on all plant substrates (pipes, valves, vessels, structures etc.) and it does this by applying a unique ‘weighting’ for every separate impacting factor on the basis that every component (or component part) is in a ‘unique’ micro-climate and conditions of influence and therefore has its own individual rate of degradation. The RoD depends on many influencing factors such as metallurgy, operating temperature, coating specification, insulation specification and ambient conditions.

degRATE takes account for up to 15 separate impacting factors – each with sub-sets of their own, all of which are defined by SCM as “Semi-Quantitative Substrate Degradation Assessment Factors”- SQSDAF for short. These factors have been applied within the company’s holistic corrosion, maintenance & integrity technology suite ‘360integrity’ for some time. Now, as degRATE, the process becomes available by license to the operators of all types of process plant.

In a recent case study degRATE delivered almost an 80% reduction in the anticipated annual maintenance load for one client on several assets. This resulted in, not only less maintenance work being required, but a massive reduction in personnel, materials and equipment resources, not to mention less downtime and a reduced impact of plant isolations during maintenance.

degRATE influences the entire maintenance decision making process. Once the operator understands the current condition of all components (an assigned classification based on current condition per an SCFM or RE-based scale) degRATE facilitates range of simple and complex analyses, otherwise not possible, such as fabric condition projections and maintenance deferment analysis. Such tools contribute to the delivery of complete visibility of plant condition, potential integrity threats and objective evidence of corrosion control, now and into the future.

“This is a massive landmark for us at SCM. Our goal with degRATE is to change the way that corrosion maintenance work is planned and scheduled across a range of industries, which is no mean feat. In adopting the degRATE methodology, plant operators will finally achieve cost effective maintenance centred around their most appropriate priorities.

We want to support and guide industry professionals away from that dangerous phrase ‘because that’s the way we’ve always done it’ and join us in adopting this new methodology which we believe can inspire a monumental change in industry, at a time when it is perhaps most needed.”

To find out more about degRATE, visit the SCM blog page where products and services division coordinator, Marc Dabbs, shares further insight into the process.

Strategic Corrosion Management has joined forces with oilfield inspection company OES Oilfield Services Group in a global strategic partnership that is set to transform integrity and fabric maintenance management. The move sees SCM coming together with another of the industry’s most innovative solution providers to enhance safety, reduce risk and increase visibility of asset condition across hundreds of on-and-offshore assets in the oil and gas industry worldwide, whilst further broadening the offering of our ‘360integrity’ framework.

The 360integrity framework is a holistic, easily implemented and robust ‘Integrated Approach’ to integrity management, which combines SCM’s proven consultancy expertise and pioneering RISCm (Risk, Integrity & Strategic Corrosion Management) software to offer a complete corrosion, integrity and fabric maintenance management solution. RISCm is made up of a number of parts, deployed in a modular way bringing together all of the relevant information about a plant’s condition, regardless of its source. By visualising the plant data in a way not possible before, asset managers can draw from it normally unavailable intelligence about a plant’s condition, the physical risks present and the maintenance efficiencies available.

OES Oilfield Services Group was founded in Dubai, UAE in 1996 and has grown into one of the world’s leading oilfield inspection companies, with regional offices in USA, UK, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Singapore and Indonesia, as well a local presence in Angola, Australia, Qatar, Oman, Egypt and South Africa.

OES’s innovative Dropped Object management software DOPP (Dropped Objects Prevention Programme) is designed to make managing risk and safety on oil installations easier, by providing control and visibility to rig personnel and management so that they are aware of the status of their installation at any given time. By deploying the DOPP system, operators can easily implement a tailored Dropped Object awareness programme, with a full inventory of all equipment located in specific rig-zones. The system is deployed along with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and step-by-step guidance to ensure that all inspection criteria and safety targets are met in full and on time.

It was recently announced that The Dropped Object Prevention Programme will receive one of the prestigious ‘Spotlight on New Technology’ awards at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) to be held in Houston in May.

In addition, oil and gas operators will have the confidence and peace of mind of regulatory compliance and the ability to easily demonstrate this with objective evidence of safety, risk and corrosion and integrity control. We believe that combining SCM’s heritage and client base within oil and gas production with OES’ expertise in global drilling operators, and integrating our respective ‘flagship’ solutions, is a natural progression, aligning both sectors and revolutionising integrity and fabric maintenance management.

Ian Cordingley, Managing Director of Strategic Corrosion Management said: “We’re delighted to announce this Strategic Partnership with OES, a globally established company, which we hope will further increase the global awareness of SCM. The OES Dropped Object solution is truly innovative – all platforms currently deploying the system are achieving excellent results. We see this as an area of increasing focus on the production side of the industry, which has some catching up to do in those respects. “Similarly, on the drilling side, improved fabric maintenance management and compliance is a growing requirement. By integrating the DOPP capabilities within RISCm, currently installed on 140+ production facilities, our aim is to make these technologies more accessible and easier to implement to achieve the best possible results for our clients – increased safety, reduced risk and slashed maintenance costs.”

Enis Suleyman, Chief Operating Officer of OES Oilfield Services Group said: “OES are celebrating a prolific year, our 20th year anniversary and our recently announced OTC award for the Dropped Objects Prevention Programme. We can now add to this our strategic partnership with SCM. In the current climate and pressure from oil prices, reduced maintenance and prevention costs have become imperative globally. Having innovative, technological solutions applicable for the oil and gas industry is key. It is refreshing to work with an organisation that follows the same ethos as ourselves and integrate apparent synergies within the RISCm and DOPP solution.”

We're delighted to announce that we have a new location in Kintore, Aberdeen.

The new offices, located at Crichiebank Business Centre, Inverurie, will be occupied by SCM together with our Strategic Partners Quality Services (Aberdeen).

Crichie Bank Business Centre opened in September 2005 and is only 10 minutes from Aberdeen Airport and just 20 mins from Aberdeen City Centre - a great location to allow SCM to continue to support the UK Oil & Gas industry.

RISCm (Risk, Integrity & Strategic Corrosion Management), an in-house development at SCM over recent years, was born from the first ever Fabric Maintenance Management tool-set 'Project Paint', originally deployed back in the mid 1980's. RISCm now provides the Graphical User Interface (GUI) from which SCM's Holistic Corrosion, Maintenance and Integrity Technology Suite 360integrity is deployed.

As the central data-processing 'Hub', RISCm provides an easily implemented and robust platform, integrating component, corrosion and fabric maintenance into a single, controllable management tool-set. By bringing together all of the information already available about plant condition, regardless of its source, and integrating it in a way not possible before, asset managers can draw from its remarkable and normally unavailable intelligence about:

Corrosion and maintenance strategies

External and Internal corrosion

Safety case protocols

Financial, safety and environmental constraints

Plant life expectancy and process expectations

It also brings together disparate data about surface condition, metallurgy, CUI potential and future maintenance plans, inspection data, corrosion trends or any combination of these and other corrosion factors. In doing all of this RISCm delivers objective evidence of corrosion control to regulatory authorities, supporting clients in the compliance process and providing valuable reassurance and peace of mind. RISCm software can be used at all levels and departments of your company to manage Integrity & Fabric Maintenance and, by opting for a subscription-based package, clients are able to achieve a tailored solution specific to their own requirements.

SCM had a presence at the NOF Conference held in Gateshead on Tyneside on the 10th and 11th March.

The delegate list was very comprehensive and McCourt Cordingley and Marc Dabbs met with more than 200 representatives from a range of industries.

We were complimented on our exhibition quality and design by a number of delegates, where we were visited by the NOF TV cameras and several reporters from publications both local and UK wide.

Marc Dabbs, Products and Services Division Coordinator, said

"This has been a very successful event for SCM and we see a significant number of new contacts being made and a rekindling of some older relationships, with even a little business being done right here in the event".